MHA: Villains Need A Hero Too

Yuno's body ached, even when he sat at his desk, his head was splitting from the pain of yesterday's incident. He'd much rather think of anything else but that. His legs barely got him anywhere, let alone out of his seat. When homeroom finally started, he was pleased by the silence, everyone sitting down and finally shutting up. At least those people shut up when he needed them to, support course students always have something to say, and he partly hated it.

"Alright, settle down," Loader fanned a hand at the class. "I have a small announcement, many of you may or may not want to. I highly doubt any of you will want it though."

The class opened their ears and listened intently. For the first time in a while, there was only silence among the students. Nothing came out of their lips.

"Tomorrow class 1-A is going to partake in a rescue simulation. The Hero Course teachers were kind enough to let a student from every other class go. This is a volenteer job of sorts, it's also a good learning experience. You will go with 1-A, help out the teachers with their first years, and you will get the opportunity to take part in the simulations."

1-A? No one likes 1-A. They're too self centered, they wouldn't allow a single student to do the simulation with them. They're arrogant, that's how everyone sees them. It's always the new classes that have the worst kind of students.

And despite all that, Yuno still raised his hand. "If no one else will go, I suppose I'll take the offer."

Loader deadpanned. Sure, he was the only person who volunteered, but Yuno just got out of the UA infirmary. Having him do a simulation like rescue ops could be dangerous if he's not fully recovered yet.

"Are you sure? You are still-"

Yuno's gaze sharpened as he narrowed his eyes, almost glaring at Loader. Don't talk about that, was left unsaid. It didn't need to be said. Loader sighed and rolled his shoulders, this was going to be a long day.

"Alright. Tomorrow, you'll go to 1-A's classroom. I will inform them you are going. Try not to give them a hard time."

"Of course." Yuno answered, smiling like he never had glared at Loader.

"You kids will be the death of me."

Class went on, although, people began whispering whenever Loader left the classroom. They leaned over their desks and spoke hushed whispers, glancing at Yuno before quickly turning back, disgusted looks on their features. They were terrible at hiding it, Yuno could see it plain as day. He never bothered to get them to stop, he was used to it. It's not like it could hurt him, only on bad days did it really get to him.

"You think he deserved it?" Yuno heard amongst the class.

"What makes you think he didn't? I bet he picked a fight first."

"He was practically begging for it with the way he talks to himself like that."

'Annoying.'

"Stop, not now."

'Irritating.'

"Ignore it."

'Why don't they try to fill my shoes?'

"Shut up."

'That's right, they would be helpless in my position.'

"Be quiet."

'Because they are weak.'

Yuno pounded his desk with his fist. The whispers came to a stop as all eyes landed on him, staring at him, weak, outcast, helpless, coward, run away, quiet, die, let go, run-

Yuno stood out of his seat and rushed to the door, he hoped he wasn't running as the pairs of eyes followed him. The door opened, Loader putting his phone away and Yuno ran into him.

"Hey, where are you-"

"Bathroom."

Yuno knew he started running when he passed Loader because he could feel his eyes staring into his back, it felt like knives threatening to stab him. Only when he turned the corner, Loader couldn't see him anymore, did he allow himself to catch his breath, a hand on his chest as he used the wall to grip reality.

Loader turned to his class, they were all sitting in their seats, completely silent. Loader wasn't blind, nor was he stupid. He saw the look on Yuno's face before he "left to the bathroom." Loader knows the kind of person Yuno is, and he knows how people are to him. These students never got any better over the years.

"What happened?" Loader took a commanding tone, though the class stayed silent. "What happened?"

The class dropped their eyes to their desks, afraid of answering. They didn't answer at all during the few seconds Loader gave them, and he couldn't help but let out a half sigh, half scoff.

Loader sighed. "I hope you know that Tsumuyuki is going through…'things.' It would do you all some good to not gossip about students in front of them. Class dismissed, if this happens, you're all getting extra homework and a pop quiz." He waved a dismissing hand, it was the end of class anyway. He needed to find Yuno, he doesn't want the poor boy to get caught up in his head.

The first place Loader decided to check was the bathrooms. Part of him knew that Yuno was most definitely not in the bathrooms, the other part of him thought it would be a good idea to just make sure.

It didn't take long at all, finding Yuno, he didn't even make it halfway to the bathroom. Loader found him in the hallway, sitting against the wall and curled up. His arms were around his middle and his hands gripped his sleeves. He was staring at the wall across from him, wide eyed and gritting his teeth so hard he was worried they might crack.

"Hey," Loader said. Yuno didn't even look up at him. "Buddy, you doing okay?"

"How many times are people going to ask me that?" Yuno said in a rather rude tone, it made Loader, no, Maijima, flinch.

"As many times as it takes," Maijima replied. "So, you going to tell me what happened while I was on the phone?"

"I'd rather not."

"Well, the class didn't say a word to me. I had hoped you would inform me."

"So I have no choice."

"Putting it bluntly like that makes me sound like the bad guy here."

"So I'm the bad guy."

"No one is the bad guy." Majima sat down next to Yuno. "Right now, we're just lost travelers looking for information on how to get to the next village."

"That's a childish way to put it."

"I like fairy tales."

They sat there together, silent, Majima letting out a heavy breath every few seconds. He scratched his head, how awkward it was, but he needed to get this situation under control.

"I guess I'll get to the point," Majima said. "I understand there are a handful, a large handful, of students who tend to gossip."

"About me."

"Well, yes. I can't have them speaking disrespectfully about each other. I made sure to talk to them when you left. I can't have them or any of my students doing that to-"

"You talked to them about me?"

"Yes, I did."

"You talked to them, and told them to stop talking shit about me?"

"I just said that."

Yuno's eyes finally turned to Maijima, it wasn't anything he was expecting. Yuno's eyes were wide open, glaring into his own. He looked angry enough to destroy a mountain with just his expression.

"Do you have any idea what that does for me?"

"What do you-"

"It does nothing!" Maijima recoiled at shout, and he thanks the number one hero there weren't many students roaming the halls. "What did you tell them?"

"I asked what happened, they didn't answer, but I knew it had something to do with you. So I told them you were going through…'things' and requested them to not whisper or murmur in front of you the way they seemed to have done."

"Do you have any idea what problems will sprout because you told them that?!"

"Why would new problems sprout?"

"Because you told them off! Are you dense? That is an invasion of privacy!"

Yuno stood up, pushing himself away from the wall as he clenched his fist and shouted at Maijima. In anger. Yuno never gets angry with Maijima. He had thought he'd always been on Yuno's good side, a trustworthy person. Why was he so ticked off about him telling the class to leave Yuno alone?

"How is that an invasion of privacy?" Maijima asked looking up at Yuno from the floor.

"It's an invasion of privacy, because you're telling them why I'm like this. They don't need to know, they can't know. I don't care if they say shit about me, them talking behind my back, or even in front of me doesn't give you the right to step up for me!"

"What they did is disrespectful," Maijima stood up, he hated how he was a couple inches shorter than Yuno even when he did stand straight. "I won't have that in my class."

'Look at you! Being all adult, is this how an adult would act?'

'I say we pulverize him through the wall!'

'Put a knife to his throat, then we'll see what he has to say.'

"I'm trying to protect you from a path worse than the one you're on now."

"Shut up."

'That's right, he won't be able to talk anymore if his throat is slit.'

'Come on, boy. Run him through!'

"Stop-"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."

'Get your disgraceful hands off!'

'This ends now! End it now!'

This isn't right!

"No, I- stop, stop-"

'This is your chance to rip him to pieces!'

'No one cares if he dies.'

Don't give in, no one deserves death!

"Yuno, look at me. I'm right here!"

"Stop- don't touch- shut up!"

'Weak.'

'Running away again, should've guessed.'

"I'm not- I'm not a coward-"

"I didn't say you were."

'Die.'

'Go away.'

'If you can't listen, go walk off somewhere where no one will find you.'

Die, explode, weak, coward, you couldn't even if you tried, helpless, disgusting rat, how dare you defy me, can't even kill a fly-

"He's so weird, talking to himself."

"He's a freak, that's what he is."

"I bet he was practically begging for it."

'YOU ARE-'

"STOP IT!"

"Yuno!"

Yuno's eyes snapped up to Maijima, tears staining his cheeks as his fingers tangled and gripped in his hair. He could feel Maijima's hands on his biceps, holding him up like he was going to fall. As soon as Maijima had seen Yuno's chest rise and fall rapidly, he knew he needed to stop, it was going to far. All in a second Yuno had gone from furious to fearful to panicked.

Majima raised a hand to massage Yuno's fingers, coax them out of ripping his hair out. All at once, Yuno felt his knees buckle and his legs gave out. Maijima held him up and he gently met the ground, his fingers refusing to let go of his hair. No, he refused to let go of his hair, the pain gave him a sense of reality, it made him sure that he was still here and not anywhere else.

Maijima's slender fingers rubbed Yuno's, prying his fists open while he rubbed his arm with the other hand. He was able to remove one fist from his hair, thank goodness, and moved Yuno's hand to his palm and gave it a small squeeze. If he was going to grip something so hard, let it be Maijima's own hand. Yuno squeezed it back, so hard Maijima could feel the joints in his fingers popping. He cringed at the sound.

"Loud," Yuno murmured, so quiet Maijima had to strain his ears to hear. "It's loud, it hurts. I can't stop it. It won't stop, make it stop, please."

Maijima frowned at the crack in Yuno's voice, his quiet sobs and begs. "I'm sorry," Maijima brought his palms to cover Yuno's ears. "I don't know how to make it stop, just know that you're okay. Nothing is going to hurt you." Nothing except me apparently.

Yuno's back pressed against wall, he pinned himself against it to feel safe, block off everyone near him, make sure his blind spots weren't taken advantage of. He squeezed his eyes shut as he breathed, it felt like a there was a hole in his chest when he sucked in a deep breath. Kisu didn't show him what to do if he had a hole in his chest, it hurts.

"There's no hole through your chest, you're taking in too much air." Maijima informed. He said that out loud. "You remember what to do?"

Remember what?!

Yuno shook his head, his eyes struggling to find something to focus on.

"Shoot," Maijima cursed. "Right, um, in for seven, hold for three, out for five. Try it, I'll do it with you."

I can't! It won't work! It's not working! There's a hole in my chest, it's not working!

"Calm down," Maijima shushed as comfortingly as possible. "There's no hole in your chest. I can see, there is nothing there."

"It's there! I can't breath- I know, I know it's there. I can't- it hurts!"

"I know it does, try to breath. There's no hole, you're okay."

Yuno sucked in a breath, choking on it, he needed air so desperately and he kept failing to take in the oxygen his lungs begged for. His chest hurt so damn much, he want it to stop.

Stop, stop, stop, stop stop stop stop stop stopstopstopstopstopstop-

"Yuno," Maijima's voice cut through the chant. "You're okay. It's alright, take your time. If you want, we can go to the teacher's lounge and you can take your free period there."

Yuno nodded. He didn't want to be out in the open, so vulnerable, he needed a small space to squeeze into, put himself in a safe place. He needed to make sure his brain could go into overdrive without being a nuisance to anyone. He needed to think and he needed quiet.

Maijima stood up, leaving Yuno's ears open to hear every sound possible. He hated that, and covered his ears again. Maijima helped him stand, his legs felt so weak, he could collapse. Maijima held Yuno's hand for him to keep himself stable, Yuno took it willingly.

"Do you want some headphones?" Maijima asked as they began walking to the teacher's lounge. Yuno shook his head in response, headphones would never work. If anything, they locked the noises inside his head, not plug them out.

At some point, Yuno had begun looking over his shoulders every minute. He had been more on guard than Maijima had ever seen him. Although he was still in a panicked state, Maijima felt himself relax when Yuno's breaths no longer came in heavy and hoarse. They came in quick successions, and his lungs hurt, but at least he didn't have a hole there anymore.

The lounge was mostly empty, only two other teachers were there, the teachers being Midnight and Snipe. They heard the door open, their eyes snapping over to greet the teacher. They half expected Maijima, it was his break time. What they didn't expect was the small, petite, fragile student he'd been pulling behind him. He was mumbling to himself, they heard most of it, and he was doing everything he could to avoid looking at them.

Midnight was unfamiliar with this, Snipe on the other hand, he had seen this a multitude of times. Snipe and Loader were buddies when it came to schoolwork, they'd eat lunch together, talk up a storm in the lounge. Oftentimes, a teacher would call for Loader mid conversation, saying a boy in their class had begun panicking, or he was talking to himself. Loader would leave, then come back half an hour later with a boy of mismatched eyes. Unusual, was Snipe's first thought when he saw Yuno first step in the teacher's lounge. That same boy looked exactly how Yuno looks today, except, it didn't seem like his mumbling and panic issues had gotten better, it seemed to be worse than it was before.

"Is everything all right, Loader?" Midnight asked, setting down her glass of wine. Loader isn't quite sure she's allowed to drink during school hours but he paid no mind to it.

"Quite fine," Loader answered. "Just some problems to solve. Don't think too much of it."

Snipe put a hand on Midnight's shoulder, to which she turned around to see him shaking his head. They both looked back up to see Loader beckoning Yuno to sit down on a chair. Yuno did in fact sit down, he made sure his feet were touching the floor at all times as one hand gripped his pants, and the other his shirt.

"Poor boy," Midnight cradled her cheek as she frowned, speaking with a low voice. "I wonder what happened."

"Don't worry too much about it," Snipe said as he reached into the small fridge in the corner on the room, grabbing a cola. "He'll be alright in the end. He's just learning to calm down is all."

"Does this happen often?"

"Often enough, I suppose. But there's nothing poor about him, he hates the pity. Believe me, I tried it once. He came pouncing at me like a cat starving for food and it finally found a rodent to prey on. Went home with broken mask and a black eye."

Midnight laughed. "That must've been a sight. Wish I saw it."

"Hurt like the devil." Snipe's laugh faltered when he looked at Yuno and Loader again. Yuno had begun pushing Loader away, saying to stop and he can't think. "Jokes aside, Loader has a special place in his heart for the boy."

Midnight sat down, leaning back into the chair and watched the scene play out. Loader's hands were holding Yuno's, he was exaggerating his breath as he inhaled and his chest rised. Yuno attempted to do the same thing, but he choked halfway and began coughing.

"Slowly," Loader said, his voice so gentle and low. "Try again, I won't be mad, I promise."

"It won't- won't work." Yuno closed his eyes and shook his head, gasping as he spoke. "I can't."

"You can," Loader reassured. "Just try. You need to breath, otherwise you'll pass out."

Yuno didn't like the sound of that, Midnight could tell from the way his eyes somewhat tuned into focus. His first breath stuttered as he sucked in air just like Loader did, in through his nose first. He couldn't hold it for long, and let the breath out in a burst. He moaned and whined in frustration, as he tried to take in another stuttering breath.

Yuno wasn't listening to him, and when he did, he grew upset because he couldn't do it. He was going to be punished, he knew he was. He was incompetent and helpless.

"Can't-" he stammered. "I'm going to die, I can't- can't stop. Going to die- it's not stopping. It's hurting me, you're gonna hurt me-" Yuno pulled his hands away from Loader, causing the teacher to startle from the rough action. "Why- I can't. Stop, stop- shut up!"

Midnight stood up, her chair almost being knocked over as she prepped to run over. Yuno's pleads grew louder as Loader glanced at her, begging her to just stay put.

Yuno suddenly felt fingers touch his neck, two on each side. They pushed down gently on his neck, his rabid heartbeat pulsed against the fingers.

Loader sighed, disappointed, looking at Snipe who stood behind Yuno. Snipe nodded apologetically, he rarely ever did this, only doing so if it got bad, and this was getting out of hand.

Yuno's begging faltered as his hands came loose, falling to his lap as his eyelids felt like a dozen rocks in a wheelbarrow. His eyes shut and his breathing became heavy, like he ran a marathon without taking a break. When Yuno's body fell limp, Snipe pulled his hands away, relieved the boy was finally calm.

"I don't enjoy using that method." Loader adjusted Yuno's head so his neck wasn't strained.

"What did he do?" Midnight said as she walked around the desks to get a better view of Yuno.

"I just blocked off blood flow," Snipe answered. "Pressing down on the jugular vein, or carotid arteries, stops blood flow. He was already in a dizzying, lightheaded state, so it worked faster. I don't recommend using that on completely healthy person though."

"Right," Midnight looked down at the boy. "I'll keep that in mind."

They stood there, watching Yuno as he finally, finally, breathed evenly and rested. There's no doubt he needed the sleep, Midnight could tell from the bags under his eyes, his pale complexion, and thin figure. No growing teenager should look the way Yuno did. One of the many things Midnight took notice to were the bandages around his neck, yet he seemed to be uninjured.

"If it's not too personal," Midnight said as Snipe picked up Yuno and carried him to a more comfortable place to lay down. He laid him down on a bench with cushioning. "Is he hurt?"

"You're referring to the bandages on his body?" Loader raised an eyebrow.

"Specifically his neck," she pointed. "That could concern others, Y'know? People will think someone is hurting him, or maybe he's even hurting himself."

Loader sat next to Yuno, rubbing his head as he slept peacefully, he must've been so tired. Loader didn't want to let Yuno go on the rescue simulation trip with 1-A, what if this happened and he wasn't there for him? No, Aizawa would take care of him, he needed to back off from Yuno, let him be a student who needs to learn. At least he was letting himself be taught instead of avoiding the entire year because "he learned everything already."

"It comforts him, in a way," Loader answered after a few moments went by. "I can't say why he does it, but it helps him stay calm, most of the time. He picks at it and pulls it tighter around his neck. Sometimes, I'm surprised by how he can still breath with how tight he keeps that thing."

"And…his arms?" Snipe turned his head to Midnight, giving what may have been a nasty look under his mask. "I'm just asking!" She whisper shouted.

"It's alright," Loader waved a hand dismissive. "It's his Quirk. He can't access his Quirk without having to hurt himself. He needs to bleed to properly defend himself. He's been avoiding cutting himself but he keeps the bandages on because it's what he knows."

Midnight frowned. What he knows is the bandages on him? That's awfully concerning even if he doesn't happen to be injured.

"I say leave it be now, Nemuri," Snipe said, not referring to her as a hero, but as a normal person. He wasn't messing around. "Boundaries are what he loves most, leave it at that."

"I'm just curious. Are you saying you're not curious?"

"I understand what it means when people are prying into another's life."

Midnight scoffed and rolled her eyes before letting exasperated words float in the air.

"Are you telling me you aren't curious?"